Candy and cockroaches at Sternberg Museum Spooktacular

s snake — Checking out Cooper, a Speckled King Snake, which eats rattle snakes.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Trick or treating at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History combines the best of Halloween traditions–candy, costumes (even on some of the exhibit animals), fun, a spooky atmosphere–with a little bit of natural history education lurking around every corner.

The annual Spooktacular is a free event sponsored by the museum, Lifetime Dental and Eagle Community Television.

Student volunteers from Fort Hays State University lead the young costumed trick-or-treaters through the tour of several Halloween-themed exhibits.

“Scooby Doo” checks out a “Freaky Frog” at the Sternberg Spooktacular

They can check out live scorpions and cockroaches, residents in the Mice Motel, the not-so-real residents of Spiders-Ville and the sitting-so-still Freaky Frogs that they don’t look alive. They are.

sternberg tortoises — Jacob with Darius and Pebbles

Over at Critters in Costume, museum volunteer Jacob shows off Sternberg’s two Africa Spur Tortoises, Darius and Pebbles. The pair are surrounded by stuffed animal and bird specimens that are also decked out with Halloween headgear.

“Superman Shawn” holds Buddy, a Great Plains Rat Snake

One of the most popular stops is the Snakes Alive exhibit, where three native Kansas snakes are wrapped around volunteers Shauna and Shawn. Most of the kids can’t wait to pet the snakes–Buddy, Chubs and Cooper–asking what they eat, where they live and, most importantly, will they bite?

“No,” answers Shawn, “but the rattlesnake in the glass cage behind me will bite you, and that’s why he’s in a glass cage.”

Most of the adults accompanying the youngsters stand far away, not interested in getting a closeup lesson about Kansas snakes.

s mike boomer — Scott Boomer interviews a Minion at the Sternberg Museum Spooktacular

After walking through the dinosaur exhibit, and hearing the T-Rex roar–which seems a little scarier on Halloween–the kids arrive at the end of the tour, stopping to chat about their Halloween costumes with KAYS Radio’s morning show team, “Boomer and Mike.”

s jordan — Eagle Community TV’s Jordan Schaeffer runs the camera as costumed kids wait their turn to be interviewed.

The interviews are videotaped by Eagle Community TV and will be played back next week on Eagle Community TV Channel 14.

A fairy princess checks out her new princess toothbrush from Lifetime Dental Care.

Then, finally, it’s candy time.

It’s handed out along with toothbrushes, courtesy of Lifetime Dental, plus a flashlight to brighten up the dark during night time trick-or-treating yet to come.